The chairman of Anglo Dutch food and consumer products group Unilever, Mr Niall Fitzgerald, said yesterday he favoured a phased introduction of a single European currency.

In a speech at the London School of Economics, Mr Fitzgerald said a phased start of Europe's Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) would be the best guarantee of its success.

Mr Fitzgerald, who is widely known for his pro European stance, said a group of unnamed countries was on track to proceed with EMU in 1999.

"It is essential, that politics do not come before economics in deciding the size of the initial core group," he added. He again urged Britain to help shape EMU and not stay sidelined in any discussions on a single currency.

Meanwhile, the Bundesbank president, Mr Hans Tietmeyer, said last night that sustainability, not precise figures, was of primary importance for the success of the single currency.

"It's not a question of whether a country meets a particular figure on a particular date, it is a question of the long term sustainability of the euro," he said.

He also said he was not against Italy joining EMU. Every country has the same chance, he said.